Funny collections. The largest collection of candy wrappers

Many of us collect something: stamps, coins, model cars, comic books... These items are among the most common collectibles. But there are memorabilia that are much stranger. From in-flight hygiene bags to burnt food, check out these 25 weird collections.

Ballpoint pens

Angelika Unverhau from Dinslaken, Germany collected more than 220,000 ballpoint pens(not counting duplicates) from 146 countries. She had been collecting unusual pens since childhood, but decided to take her hobby more seriously in 1990. She founded a club for ballpoint pen collectors who meet twice a year to exchange pens.

Potato chips

Myrtle Young began collecting potato chips while working as a chip inspector for Seyfert Foods in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1987 when she rescued a chip that looked like a man's face from a conveyor belt. . From that moment on, she began to choose chips that reminded her of something or someone. At the time of her death in August 2014, she reportedly had between 250 and 300 chips in her collection.

Toothpaste tubes

The world record for the "largest collection of empty toothpaste tubes" belongs to Ronan Jordan from New York, USA. He became the record holder in October 2013. Mr. Jordan's collection included 3,750 empty toothpaste tubes from various companies around the world.

Murder memorabilia

Even though it sounds creepy, there are thousands of people who collect memorabilia related to murders and violent psychopaths. From cars to clothing, memorabilia, diaries and even artwork, created by some of the deadliest people to ever be a part of our society - murder memorabilia comes in many different forms. As one might expect, the idea of collecting murder property has generated controversy, with many opponents this moment are working to create a law that would prohibit auctions of such things.

Super Marios

The largest collection of Super Mario memorabilia, with 5,441 unique items, belongs to Mitsugu Kikai from Japan. The items were counted in Tokyo in July 2010.

Burnt food

The Burnt Food Museum was founded in the late 1980s by Deborah Henson-Conant and recently moved to Arlington, Massachusetts. IN exhibition halls The museum's home houses more than 49,000 scorched, scorched, desiccated and charred objects in a stunning variety, from charred elephant, venison, pork, fish and poultry to thrice-baked potatoes.

Superman

Herbert Chavez of Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines, boasts a collection of Superman memorabilia consisting of nearly 1,300 items. Herbert even moved a series plastic surgery on your nose, cheeks, lips and chin, as well as your thighs. He even changed his skin tone to look more like his idol.

Sneakers

Jordan Michael Geller is an avid sneaker lover and reportedly has the largest sneaker collection in the world, consisting of approximately 2,500 pairs. It's no surprise that he's also a fan of the most famous Jordan of them all, Michael Jordan. Geller was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 2013 for owning the largest personal shoe collection.

Pandas

Celine Cornet has a collection of 2,200 panda-related items in her home in Haccourt, Belgium. Celine and her husband Andre began their collection in 1978 when he gave her a panda souvenir he bought in Italy. Celine said she plans to donate all her pandas to sick children when she dies.

Pokemon

Lisa Courtney from the UK is a true Pokemon fan. Lisa has been collecting Pokemon toys since 1997 and has a collection of almost 15,000 of them. Her collection includes items from the UK, US, France and of course Japan.

Umbilical fluff

Graham Barker from Perth, Australia is the owner of what is often considered the strangest thing in the world. He started his collection when he noticed his own belly button fluff one night and became curious about how much fluff a person produces. Every night he collects everything he finds in his belly button and puts it in a jar purchased specifically for this purpose. At the end of each year he adds fluff to his great collection. In the 26 years he's collected his lint, he's managed to fill three glass jars, and he's already working on a fourth.

Water pistols

A Boeing scientist named Chris Reid has the largest collection of Super Soaker water pistols in the world. The company's Super Soaker water pistol was first introduced in 1989 and quickly displaced other water pistols of its time from the market. Reid has a total of 340 Super Soaker water pistols, his first water pistol was a pistol autographed by Super Soaker inventor Lonnie Johnson.

Asphalt

The Asphalt Museum is actually the real name of a museum in Sacramento, California. It was founded in 1991 by two Colorado State University students. The collection consists of asphalt "samples" of Route 66, Route 1, and the ancient Roman road Appian Way, as well as lesser-known roads.

Soviet calculators

Sergei Frolov has a fantastic collection of over 150 Soviet-made calculators, as well as antique computers, clocks and slide rules. Frolov is even trying to raise enough money to open a museum of antique Soviet electronics.

Hot sauces

Vic Clinco of Phoenix, Arizona, has the world's largest collection of hot sauces. His amazing collection of 6,000 bottles of sauces from around the world includes a rare bottle of Blair's 16 Million Reserve, the hottest sauce on the planet.

Penises

Sigurdur Hjartarson, former teacher from Iceland, has a strange hobby of collecting penises various types animals. His collection includes a total of approximately 300 penises from various animal species, including whales, seals or land mammals. Hjartarson is adamant that his museum is a scientific and cultural endeavor that has no cause for disgust and that there is nothing erotic or pornographic in its collection.

Barbie dolls

Barbie dolls are not such an unusual collection for little girls, but for an adult man it is a completely different story. 33-year-old Jian Yang from Singapore has a collection of more than 6,000 Barbie dolls. Although Ian has quite a huge collection, the 2013 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records awarded the award for the largest Barbie doll collection to Germany's Bettina Dorfmann, who owns approximately 15,000 Barbie dolls.

Toilet seat covers

Barney Smith, a retired plumber from Texas, has an unusual art collection: toilet seats. Over the past 30 years, Barney has created over 700 artistically designed toilet seat covers. In 1992, he even opened his own Toilet Seat Art Museum, which currently houses approximately 1,000 toilet seat covers.

Chewed nicotine gum

Barry Chappell started collecting chewing gum while on an international flight. Because he had nowhere to throw away the gum after he finished chewing it, he held it in his hand and rolled it into a small ball. This action became a prerequisite for the birth unusual idea. Six years and 95,200 pieces of gum later, Barry was a non-smoking superstar. He created a giant ball of chewing gum that weighs almost 80 kilograms.

Hamburgers

One day, Matt Malgram bought two hamburgers at a popular diner. fast food. He ate one and put the other in the refrigerator. A year later, he discovered that it smelled and tasted exactly the same. Fascinated, he started a collection of hamburgers, labeling them by year.

Handcuffs

Joseph Lauher has the largest collection of handcuffs (with an emphasis on antique handcuffs), shackles, wire cutters and thumb cuffs on the Internet.

Mermaid tails

Eric Ducharme from Florida has been fascinated by mermaids since he was a child. At the age of 16, he staged his first show, swimming as the merman prince in the Weeki Wachee Springs' Little Mermaid show in 2006. Today, in addition to collecting tails, Ducharme also runs his own business called Mertailor, which produces custom tails.

On-board hygiene bags

The Air Sickness Bags Virtual Museum is a collection of approximately 2,300 airborne hygiene bags collected by museum creator Steven J Silberberg. The museum is exclusively online, with photographs of various on-board hygiene bags. However, the actual packages are kept at Silberberg's home. Apart from on-board hygiene bags, the website also offers a look at a collection of bus, sea and even space hygiene bags.

Owls

Pam Barker of Leeds, Maine, is a big fan of all things owls. In 2006, she entered the Guinness Book of World Records with her collection of more than 18,000 owl memorabilia. The collection includes owls printed on towels, owl necklaces, owl statues, owl t-shirts, Greeting Cards owl designs, plush owls and more.

Rubber ducks

Charlotte Lee of Seattle, Washington holds a Guinness World Record with her collection of 5,631 rubber duckies as of 2011. She began collecting her collection in 1996 and is still adding to it.

As children, many people were interested in collecting. Some people collected stamps or calendars, while others were more interested in exchanging coins from different countries, or carefully place miniature figurines of your favorite animals, cars, dolls on the shelf. And in many kitchens today, the refrigerator door is literally hung with various magnets. What is this if not a collection? However, all these are examples of completely traditional hobbies, and there are people in the world who at some point decided to collect rather unusual things. Many of them have succeeded in this matter, but only 10 of the most unusual collections are presented here.

10. Banana Paradise

Children are sure that a banana with a sticker is much tastier than without it. These small labels are in great demand among children. But with age, interest in them goes away on its own. But for American Becky Marts, this childhood hobby has grown into an adult hobby, which she has been doing for 20 years. Today, the Miss Marts collection includes more than 7 thousand banana labels from different countries. Becky is not alone in her passion for such stickers. She meets like-minded people in collecting banana labels at thematic conferences around the world.

9. Erasers for every taste

Once you enter a stationery store, you can become a respected collector with worldwide popularity. This happened to young Hannah Walker from Great Britain. A girl enthusiastically collects fancy-shaped school erasers. It must be said that this hobby was inherited by a 7-year-old English girl. As a child, her aunt also selflessly collected erasers. Now she happily handed over her entire collection to her niece. As a result, Hannah Walker collected 1,500 erasers, many of which were born much earlier than the youngest collector. Thus, the decoration of the collection is considered to be elastic bands with the symbols of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. According to conservative estimates, the total cost of all exhibits is 2,000 pounds, which is a fortune for a seven-year-old collector. But there are other unusual collections of these stationery items in the world. Thus, Russian woman Yulia Kokina collected about 1000 erasers from all over the world.

8. You can never have too many balls

In 2015, his collection celebrates its half-century anniversary. Since 1965, Dick Falensky from Pennsylvania (USA) has been collecting golf balls. It must be said that the 74-year-old collector was very successful in this matter. To date, he has collected more than 36 thousand exhibits. Among them are balls that previously belonged to Bill Clinton and Michael Jordan - iconic personalities for every American. There are also real rarities on this list, the age of which reaches up to 200 years. To organize the collection, Dick uses furniture made according to his individual drawings. And even despite this, many balls are simply dumped into spacious baskets. The American's house is located on the street Right way, and for the determined Mr. Falensky this name is very symbolic. After all, he is confidently moving towards expanding his already extensive collection, dreaming of collecting 50 thousand balls.

7. Basic truths

Polish Szajnowski family long years collects primers. To date, they have already managed to collect 260 books in 30 languages. But Latvian Juris Cibuls can boast of a much more significant collection. A teacher by profession, he was able to collect 7,300 primers and alphabet books. Its collection includes books from more than 200 countries in 948 languages. Cibuls actively exhibits part of its grandiose collection. Thus, his primers became participants in 160 exhibitions, at which the collector himself met with the audience, talking about the most interesting exhibits. The man claims that using the alphabet you can not only learn a language, but also get to know the culture of a particular people. You can trust his authoritative opinion, because he began collecting primers back in student years. And in 1996, Cibuls himself became the author of a Latvian primer.

6. Do not disturb!

With German methodicality, Reiner Weichert expanded his collection over the course of 25 years. In total, since 1990, the man has collected 11,570 “Do Not Disturb!” door signs. His collection includes artifacts from 188 countries that called for silence in various hotels, cruise ships and airplanes. With such a great selection of signs at hand, Rayner doesn't have to worry about anyone disturbing his peace. It’s just that the unusual collection made Weichert famous, which means you can forget about silence. After all, great glory awaits him.

5. Seafood

Some people add to their unusual collections without spending a penny. Thus, Kari Hansen from Norway carefully collects all the objects that she finds on the seashore. For more than 20 years, the waves have brought the most incredible exhibits to her collection. Kari loves to walk along the coast, looking closely at the sand. To tell the truth, for many years the collector did not come across any particularly valuable specimens. But one day she came across a bronze decoration in the shape of a horseshoe. At first, the woman did not attach much importance to this, but very quickly the find glorified Trondenes, Kari Hansen’s hometown. The fact is that the necklace turned out to come from the Bronze Age, and its age is 2500 years. At the same time, the find was in excellent condition, but it did not become an adornment of the collection. According to the laws of the country, a valuable artifact is the property of the state. And that means its place is in the museum.

4. A student's dream

Thanks to his students, physics teacher Alexander Smirnov has collected an interesting collection. Over 30 years of working as a school teacher, he accumulated more than 6,000 different crib sheets. Epochs changed, but students still sought to make their work easier. Each new generation has shown more and more ingenuity in this matter. The transformation of crib sheets can be traced by studying the collection of A.I. Smirnova. There are handwritten and printed artifacts disguised as erasers or embedded in wristwatches. The most resourceful students managed to write several formulas with inside long false nails, and the boys wrote the necessary information on banknotes. And if at first the teacher’s vigilance was explained by pedagogical zeal, then over time the collector’s passion was added to it.

3. Ties for all occasions

Most of the house of Englishman Tom Holmes is occupied by an unusual collection of clothes. It's about about this accessory men's suit like a tie. This hobby has scientific name– Grabatology. The namesake of the famous detective is not yet so famous on a global scale, but in his homeland his name has long been known. After all, in almost 80 years, which is exactly how long it took Holmes to create the collection, he collected 10,625 ties. The man is so popular in the UK that every year on his birthday he receives a gift in the mail from the Prime Minister himself. There is no need to guess about the contents of the parcel; of course, there is a new tie every time.

2. Penny by penny

Despite his specific hobby, Yuri Babin from Novosibirsk cannot be accused of pettiness. Although he collects coins in denominations of 1 kopeck, the scale of the collection is amazing. Over the years, penny by penny, the pensioner has collected as much as 5 million rubles. At the same time, Babin’s capital has serious weight. His entire collection weighs 7.5 tons. The idea to collect change came to the man in 1998 after the default. At that time, Russian money depreciated significantly, and penny coins became absolutely useless. Yuri not only received coins in change or accidentally found them on the street, but also purposefully bought them in banks in whole packages of 4,000 pieces. A resident of Novosibirsk found a use for his collection in his home. Coins serve as decoration for walls and floors. And he spent several thousand on decorating his own clothes. Thus, a millionaire's jacket weighing about 6 kg was born. True, due to the abundance of metal decor, the fabric is completely invisible, and it looks more like chain mail. Babin shows the collection to everyone, inviting them on a tour of his home.

1. Down collection

It is completely incomprehensible how Graham Barker came up with the idea of collecting umbilical fluff. But he spent 26 years of his life on this venture. The main source of the collection was Barker's own navel. For more than a quarter of a century, a modest Australian librarian from Perth collected 22 grams of umbilical fluff. His unusual collection is very compactly housed in three small glass jars. This meeting was honored to be included in the Book of Records, but the main sensation was another event. A local museum became interested in the collection, offering Barker to buy the treasured cans of fluff. The collector immediately agreed, although he still prefers to remain silent about the amount of proceeds. In general, for some reason the topic of umbilical fluff worries many people on the Green Continent. Thus, the Australian scientist Karl Kruzelnicki was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in 2002 for research in this area. This comic award fell into the hands of the scientist after he established the nature of the occurrence of umbilical fluff. It turns out that this is a mixture of tissue microfibers and dead skin cells, which is formed as a result of friction of a hairy male belly against clothing. Well, a sensational discovery, to say the least. But who knows, maybe this information will inspire someone to create a new unusual collection.

There are an incredible number of the strangest collections in the world. Eccentrics never tire of proving that you can collect anything. Some people carefully store tea bags or toilet lids, while others have room in their collection for a couple of airplanes. It doesn’t matter what a person collects, the main thing is that it brings him joy.

Millions of people around the world are passionate about collecting. Numismatists collect coins, falerists collect awards, and philatelists collect stamps. But there are also people who like to make their collections from unusual things.

For example, Prague resident P. Gaini has keys, lighters, coins, boots, etc. in his collection. The thing is that in his youth he was a hockey referee and collected objects that spectators threw at him from the stands.

In 1957, Danish farmer Hansen opened the world's first feather museum. His hobby began in childhood, when he collected feathers of poultry. Later, Hansen began to conduct extensive correspondence and unusual exhibits were sent to him from all over the world.

A. I. Smirnov worked as a teacher at the school for more than 30 years. During this time he managed to collect unique collection... school cheat sheets. More than 6,000 exhibits are carefully stored in collector's albums.

A collector from Novosibirsk, A. Lutkovsky, collects newspapers that have the word “truth” in their titles. The collection contains more than 800 newspapers from around the world.

Vietnamese Wang Guohua collected more than 30,000 unopened cigarette packs. They are pasted on the walls and completely replace wallpaper.

Becky Marts from the USA collects labels stuck on bananas. The collection contains more than 7,000 items.

One Irish policeman collects 50 gram bottles of whiskey. He has about 3,000 of them.

But this policeman’s fellow countryman, the famous Irish football player John Aldridge, was collecting soccer balls. But not every ball could end up in John’s collection, but only those with which he scored at least three goals in a game. Aldridge scored a lot, so the collection turned out to be impressive.

Angelika Unfergau from Germany has collected a collection of 168,700 ballpoint pens from 137 countries. The most valuable exhibit costs more than $500.

Betina Dorfman, from the German city of Dusseldorf, has more than 6,000 Barbie dolls in her apartment.

Dentist Kolpakov from Michigan collected a collection of 1,800 tubes of toothpaste. Collector John Reznikoff from Connecticut carefully preserves celebrity hair. His collection includes the locks of Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe. The authenticity of the hair is documented.

Englishman Chris Gower is the owner of a substantial collection of handcuffs. His collection includes 530 copies from different times and countries.

Norwegian resident Kari Hansen has been collecting everything that washed ashore for many years. sea waves. The main decoration of the collection is a bronze necklace, which is about 2,500 years old.

Vic Klinko lives in Arizona, he collects various hot sauces. His collection includes about 6 thousand different jars and bottles from all over the world. The crown jewel of his collection is a rarity called Blair's 16 Million Reserve - the hottest sauce in the world!

Murderobilia is a collection of various things related to murder. It sounds strange, but there are quite a lot of people in the world who are prone to collecting objects related to murder that belonged to various psychopathic maniacs. People collect everything from cars to handkerchiefs of killers and their victims. In one of the collections there is even a picture drawn by one of the most vile murderers in history - Murderobilia sometimes takes the strangest forms.

The Burnt Food Museum was founded in 1980 by a person named Deborah Henson-Conant and is located in Arlington, Massachusetts, USA. The collection is huge - within the walls of the museum there are 49 thousand burnt and completely burnt (to the point of charring) exhibits. There are steaks and pies, and overcooked fillets of elephant, pig and fish, the list goes on and on.

A native of Belgium, Celine Cornet, collected 2,200 panda figurines. Celine began collecting them together with her husband in 1987, when her husband brought her the first panda - a souvenir from Italy. Celine bequeathed all the toys to homeless children after her death.

Boeing scientist Chris Reids is the owner of the largest collection of Super Soaker water pistols. This company appeared on the market in 1989 and quickly crushed its competitors in the wet business. Chris has 340 models from this company in his collection, and one of them has the autograph of Super Soaker founder Lonnie Johnson.

You never know who hoards anything, but look at strange collections always interesting. After all, how much effort and work people put into finding the millionth Pepsi cap. But people are sincerely happy about such finds. It’s these kind of crazy collectors that we’ll be talking about.

Belgian resident Celine Corent is hoarding stuffed pandas. And not only them, but in general everything that has at least some relation to pandas. The passion began when in 1978 her husband, who was traveling in Italy, brought her a toy panda as a gift. The hobby is not meaningless - Celine is going to bequeath the collection to sick children.

Celine Corent shows off a stuffed toy from her panda collection

Harry Burrows from Lapal, Halesowen (UK), collects vacuum cleaners and has already collected 40 of them. I became addicted to the device when my parents turned on the vacuum cleaner, hinting that it was time for their son to go to bed. Since then, Harry has been wondering how vacuum cleaners are connected to his life. He spends his pocket money and buys rare models that are not popular on the market.

Harry Burroughs and his collection of vacuum cleaners

Dick Falensky is a golf fan. He brought 36,000 golf balls from around the world. Lives in Pennsylvania, USA. He has been collecting his collection for 50 years. His list includes balls used by Bill Clinton and basketball player Michael Jordan.

Dick Falensky and his collection of golf accessories

Margaret Tyler is an honorary devotee of royal life. She not only believes that living like a king is necessary, but that it is very cool. She accumulates things that remind her of such a life, as if partaking of royal regalia. Her collection includes life-size duke and duchess mannequins and a stained glass window that once belonged to Princess Diana. The old woman even converted her house in the Wembley area into a boarding house so that the house would resemble a royal one.

Margaret Tyler and the Royal Family's Trinkets

Hannah Walker is seven years old. Lives in Hampshire, UK. One day a girl started collecting beautiful erasers, and then her aunt found out about it and gave her her collection, which she had also collected since childhood. Some of the hundreds of erasers are still in their wrappers, and the collection is currently worth $2,000 in total. Some are truly collectible and dated back to 1986, for example, and look like toys or dolls.

Hannah Walker and erasers

Lucky J. Meisenheimer entered the Guinness Book of World Records for his collection. He collected 10,000 yo-yos. Lives in Orlando, Florida. He even published a guidebook “for those obsessed with yo-yos.”

Lucky J. Meisenheimer and his yo-yo collection

Collector Jian Yan from Singapore collects dolls, mostly themed. He buys them at auctions and all over the world. In the photo he is holding an Osama Bin Laden toy. In total, his collection includes 6,000 Barbie dolls and 3,000 other dolls. His collection filled all the free spaces on the terrace in the house.

Jian Yang collects dolls

Steve Sansweet lives in California and is a Star Wars fan. Steve is also the head of a museum that makes no profit at all, but generates constant interest. He has already collected 300,000 items that are somehow related to the film. There is even a miniature copy spaceship under the command of Han Solo.

Steve Sansweet collects Star Wars paraphernalia

Yvette Dardenne from Belgium loves decorated tin boxes for tea, chocolates and sweets. She has already collected 57,600 containers. The 76-year-old lady is proud of her collection: there are specimens that depict world events, scenes from everyday life, and portraits of strange personalities of the 20th century.

Yvette Dardenne collects tin boxes

Barney Smith from Texas worked as a plumber all his life, and in honor of this he collected 1,100 toilet seats. He decorates each one with an embroidered leather or rag shield. It took 40 years to create the collection. He keeps his collection in a garage, which has also become a local landmark and museum.

Barney Smith shows a toilet seat

For 26 years, Perth Australian Graham Barker has been saving fluff from his umbilical cavity in jars, which he carefully shaved and rolled into pellets. Already collected 22.1 grams.

Perth Graham Brecher stores umbilical fluff in jars

Wang Guohua from China collects cigarette packs and has already collected 30,000 pieces. The entire collection is housed in his apartment, in one of the rooms.

Wang Guohua collects cigarette packs

Heinrik Kath from Cuxhaven, Germany, collects mugs, of which he has more than 22,000. His collection includes many beer mugs, although he does not drink beer at all. He began collecting his collection in 1997.

Heinrich Kath and his mugs

Dimitris Pistiolas collects video cameras and lives in Athens. I have accumulated more than 1000 pieces.

Dimitris Pistiolas and video cameras

Pam Barker from Leeds, UK, collects owls. Her collection of almost 20,000 copies was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Pam Barker and her owls

A very tasty collection from Ron Hood from Lewiston, Scotland. He collects edible sweet toys. He converted the basement of his house into a museum, which already contains 3,000 toys. Ron thinks that's not enough. How he keeps visitors from trying to eat it all is a mystery.

Ron Hood and his sweets

Sharon Badgley collects Santa Clauses, of which there are more than 3,000. It took her almost a week to collect all the toys from the collection in one room.

Sharon Badgley and many, many Santas

), 45 years
Occupation: P baker's assistant and housewife who rents out her house according to the system Airbnb
Place: R Fitzroy Area, Melbourne, Australia
Collection: 257 Australian wool blankets produced before the early 1970s

Where it all started
“Six years ago I started collecting woolen travel blankets from Onkaparinga . We love hosting family movie nights and I wanted everyone to be able to choose a blanket that they liked. Over time, everyone has their own favorite, even the cat- small, red, plaid,- Ramona says. Since then, she has become accustomed to paying attention to all kinds of rugs and blankets and discovered vintage blankets, which are presented in large quantities in the textile departments of consignment stores. - When I found the first Laconia blanket - beige, with blue stripes along the edges - I almost lost my mind with joy. To this day, stripes are my favorite pattern, and I have a total of 42 striped blankets in various combinations of the three colors they were ever produced in: blue, orange-pink and mint green.”
Ramona also loves the design tags sewn onto the blankets. "On the company's products Physician you can find a label with a lady in bed, and on the logo of the blankets Laconia made of sheep's wool depicts two lambs and the slogan “Let the night really be good”,- she says. “I bought many models just because of these tiny drawings.”

Storage strategy
“The blankets literally outlived the other collections from all the closets, shelves and chests of drawers, so many things had to go into boxes and move into the garage,- Ramona laughs. - ABOUT the deeds are beyond competition!”
Replenishment of the collection
“I am currently in the middle of a year-long project calledBlanket Fever , during which I plan to visit everything thrift stores Victoria. There are a total of 750 second-hand stores in this state, and I have already visited 500,- says Ramona. - Target - create a unique collection of vintage blankets. When I first started, I had 100 models, and since the beginning of the project I have bought another 157. Traveling through the countryside is a nice bonus, because every time I go to another store, I go to some charming provincial town.”

SEE ALSO…
Other photos of this house

2. Obsession with guitars Fenderin Italy
Collector: Flavio Camorani, 53 years old
Occupation: at hotel manager and owner of a music and concert company with recording studio. "I also play in a band Floyd Machine - the only officially recognized tribute band Pink Floyd in Italy" - says Flavio
Place: Forli, Italy
Collection: 100 Fender guitars , produced from 1951 to 1964, as well as guitar cases and a large number of memorabilia and documents related to the history of the company Fender

Cwhere did it all start
“In the early 1980s, I was madly in love with music and collecting records,- Flavio shares. - I bought my first instruments with tips I received while working as a waiter and bartender. I bought my very first guitar at the age of 19, it was black Stratocaster with a 1979 maple neck."
"I decided to focus only on guitars Fender , and now, 34 years later, I am the owner of a collection that is rare not only in Italy, but throughout the world. My house is like a museum, and sometimes I rent out the collection, so it's kind of like a touring museum."

Storage strategy
“There are racks for guitars throughout the house, and instruments are stored in literally every room except the bathroom and kitchen, because excess moisture can damage them,”- says Flavio.- I have a dehumidifier so the guitars don't get old or break down. Living room dedicated to models Telecaster , there is also a snare drum with the autographs of five drummers whose names are known to all music lovers: Nick Mason, Stuart Copeland, Ian Pace, Carl Palmer and Billy Cobham."
Replenishment of the collection
"The best way to expand your collection- is to go to a vintage store musical instruments, talk to people and make an amazing deal,” Flavio shares his experience.
Most Favorite Subject
“I can't answer this question. My guitars are like children to me. Some are more expensive and rare, others- simple and popular, but I love them all equally,” says the collector.
SEE ALSO…
Other photos of this house

3. UK Dinosaur Devotion
Collector: Jay Jay Burridge, 44, and his wife Mel Moss
Occupation: X artists
Place: Oxfordshire, England
Collection: d inosaurs, "a lot of dinosaurs," says JJ, the creator of 11 life-size dinosaur sculptures and the designer of the dinosaur skull-shaped rubber sandals he callsTrainersaurus. The collection also includes 150 smaller dinosaurs. The house's diverse collections also include enamel pots and posters of bullfighting, French schools and British public transport.
Where it all started
“It all started with Lego and figurines from Star Wars, but the first serious collections were unusual bakelite items and vintage telephones, about 80 pieces,- R says JJ.- As a teenager, I collected animal skulls and then sketched them in detail. When I first started at Central Saint Martins, I had hundreds of these drawings in my portfolio. Looking back, I understand why main theme Dinosaurs became my creativity."

Storage strategy
Since the size of dinosaurs is somewhat unusual for a home collection, the collection did not fit in the apartment.
“I had to move out of town- land is much cheaper there,”- laughs JJ. He also rents a warehouse on a local farm.
Replenishment of the collection
“Wherever I go, the first thing I do is- looking for flea markets, consignment shops and garage sales. I've never had any luck with garage sales in the UK."- says JJ.
Most Favorite Subject
Glued onto a board and framed is a 2,000-piece puzzle that JJ found in a Parisian landfill. "Best find of my life"- G he will say. The most interesting item in the collection- A real blaster rifle from a Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back movie prop. There are only three of them in the whole world, and one hangs on the wall in the house of JJ (JJ Abramson, the modern version - editor's note).
SEE ALSO…
Other photos of this cottage

Where it all started
It would seem that there is nothing unusual in the collection of hats - every woman has one. But Wendy Ann Rosen approached the matter in a big way. She started collecting hats about 25 years ago. “In the mid-1980s, I acquired a small collection of 1940s hats in their original department store boxes. But I only started systematizing my collection in the 1990s,” she says. “I was always lucky and managed to find exactly what I was looking for.”
Storage strategy
“My living room has high ceilings, which is perfect for storing tall stacks of hat boxes,- says Wendy Ann.- The walls are filled from edge to edge and floor to ceiling with boxes and antique display cases. My home looks more like a hat museum than a living space. Sometimes I dream of having a sofa and TV in the living room, but I understand that such an interior would destroy the aesthetics of the collection.”
Hat boxes are kept in every room except the kitchen and bathroom, and Wendy Ann notes that building box towers in California- a real art, because earthquakes happen here quite often.

Replenishment of the collection
“Most often I buy Chinese hat boxes that I find on eBay, - g Wendy says. - When I first started collecting hats, I often went to antique boutiques. Antique show Pier Show in New York - one of my favorite events. Vintage textile and costume dealers such as Cora Ginsberg and Junna Wroblewski always help me in my search. And, of course, one of the most significant components of my collection- collection of hats Mr. John , which I bought from the Los Angeles Museum of Art."
Most Favorite Subject
"IN currently these are Chinese hat boxes,- says Wendy. - IN Lately I don't add to my collection often- there is not enough space; but I buy new boxes all the time. And I especially love the perfect miniature replica of the top hat. Dobbs from beaver fur."
SEE ALSO…
Other photos from this collection

5. Passion for comics and cartoons in Russia
Collector: Donatienne, 40, and Catherine de Rochambeau, 38
Occupation: Donatien - collector of comics and cartoons, curator and co-owner of the Raketa watch factory; Catherine- And art critic and Russian art fair representative BRAFA in Brussels
Place: Moscow, Russia
Collection: O original comics, books and albums, which, according to Donatien, are “too many to count”, but definitely more than 500. The collection also includes original celluloids from famous cartoons

Where it all started
“I've been into comics since I was a kid.- it's part of French culture,- says Donatien.- Along with other literature and periodicals, comics were very popular in our family. As for the original sketches for cartoons, I became interested in them six years ago, and today our collection includes many works by Soviet animators.”
Storage strategy
The couple completely renovated their interior, and since there is little sun in the Moscow climate, preference was given to bright colors. The walls, for example, were painted yellow. “I hung the special and most favorite items from the collection on the walls,- says Donatien.- In the living room there is a three-meter white rack with metal shelves in which comics are stored. Sturdy shelves were needed to support the significant weight of the heavy albums.”

Replenishment of the collection
“The world of comics has its own, very serious market, its own sellers and buyers,- says Donatien.- Most influential auction houses, including Sotheby's, Christie's and Artcurial , hold comic book auctions. Also in Paris, Brussels, London and New York there are large art galleries who specialize in comics. Major art fairs such as TEFAF and BRAFA among other things, they represent original sketches and sketches for comics.”
Most lovelyitem
" Hard to say . Many items are very dear to me. I consider comics to be an art form and I try to show it to a wider audience.- says Donatien.- In Russia it is not customary to take comics seriously, despite the fact that most of themnot just pictures for kids. Comics contain a lot of humor based on political and social topics. Talented and experienced artists and writers are creating them all over the world.”
SEE ALSO…
Other photos of this house

6. Home collection contemporary art in France
Collector: Gabriel Nalle, 43 years old
Occupation: n otarius
Place: Grenoble, France
Collection: O about 200 pieces of contemporary art, including drawings, photographs, paintings and sculptures

Where it all started
Garbriel's parents often took him on trips to museums, but he first became acquainted with modern art only in his teens. “My parents subscribed to the newspaper La Gazette Drouot, and I was always surprised by the high prices for the most simple objects. I needed to figure this out, so I bought a book about contemporary art."- he says.

The starting point of the collection can be considered the day when Gabriel discovered Barnett Newman’s painting “Keep Shining”, exhibited at the Pompidou Center in Paris. Newman created this work in memory of his tragically deceased brother George. “It was an insight for me; before I didn’t think it was possible to convey emotions with such minimalistic means,”- says Gabriel.

He bought his first piece of modern art when he was 25 years old. It was a work from the series “Punishments” by Isabelle Levene ( Isabelle Lévénez ). “The idea for this series was to write in a school notebook nice offer right hand and the opposite in meaning- left", - says Gabriel.

Replenishment of the collection
“I find suitable items in ten different galleries that I know well and follow with great interest. I also attend exhibitions: Paris Annual Contemporary Art Fair, Venice Biennale, Artissima exhibition in Turin and ART - O - RAMA in Marseille,” explains Gabriel.
Most Favorite Subject
"I would say it's always the next thing,- says Gabriel.- Although there is one photographic work Czech artist Zhiri Kovanda ( Ji ří Kovanda) , which perfectly reflects my philosophy today. This is one of those artists who lived behind the Iron Curtain and developed a very poetic style using small means of expression."
SEE ALSO…
Other photos of this house

7. Librarychildren'sliteratureVJapan
Collector: Yutako Yamada, 52 years old
Genusclasses: tea taster, founder and owner of a tea brand Karel Capek and children's book illustrator
Place: Tokyo, Japan
Collection: About 4000 illustrated books, half of which are kept in the home library, including 1,200 vintage editions published in the 1950s-1970s

Where it all started
“When I was little, my mother taught English language at school in Nagoya, and we had many English textbooks at home with charming old-fashioned illustrations,- Yutako says. - By the age of three or four I was already enjoying looking at picture books. Mom was always busy and didn't have enough time to read fairy tales to her daughters, but I, like my sisters, grew up in a forest of bright fantasy books in foreign languages."

In this photo you can see the first books from Yutako's collection, which she inherited from her mother. “I couldn’t read English then, but realistic, colorful and funny pictures could tell me a lot, and quite often I made up my own stories,- she says. - I really loved playing in the imaginary book world.”

Replenishment of the collection
“Since I inherited the first part of the collection, one of the best sources for replenishing the collection was my mother’s bookcase. She bought books in the 1960s, and they were brand new then,- Yutako says. - Perhaps this is why books from the 1950s to 1970s fascinate me the most. I buy both old and new editions from Japan and foreign countries. Sometimes I find interesting copies in second-hand bookstores and on the Internet.”

Storage strategy
“When my husband and I decided to build a new house four years ago, I asked architect Yoshinori Negishi of NOAH Architects to create a library in the basement,” says Yutako. Here she stores about 2,000 books. “I wanted this room to feel a little old-fashioned, with a warm, cozy atmosphere. Especially for the library, I selected vintage tables, chairs and sofas and asked them to paint the walls and bookcases in my favorite dark red color. I think the burgundy shade is the perfect frame for colored spines,” says Yutako. The architect also designed several exhibition shelves on which the owner displays books with her favorite covers.
Most Favorite Subject
"My favourite author- Roger Duvoisin, American writer and illustrator of Swiss origin. There are about 100 of his books in my collection,- Yutako says. - His sophisticated painting style and expressive colors always excite my imagination.”
SEE ALSO…
Other photos of this house

- P gifts from people who don’t want to bother with such a big toy, but also regret throwing it away,- says Belen. - N Some I buy myself in antique shops, on the Internet, or bring from trips around different countries. Another part- gifts from friends and family who know about my hobby.”

9. A Tribute to East German Design in Berlin
Collector: Günter Höhne, 72 years old
Occupation: journalist and writer
Place: Berlin, Germany
Collection: With over 10,000 designer items produced in East Germany. Gunther donated many of them to various German museums, for example, the Neue Sammlung Museum in Munich
Where it all started
“I have always been a collector, even as a child I collected pieces of porcelain with gold decoration,” says Gunther. - I still have several items from the fall of the Berlin Wall, but I consciously started collecting things made in the GDR for two reasons. In 2000, I was asked to organize an exhibition in Cologne on GDR design, and a collector who was going to lend us his collection changed his mind at the last moment. I had no choice but to find and buy the necessary items myself. Working with exhibition organizers and restorers, I learned a lot about a wide variety of exhibits. I was very impressed by the stories they had to tell and immediately wanted to know more.”
“The second reason that prompted me to continue the collection and publish several books about East German design was the complete disregard for this topic. No one could appreciate these items. People forgot about them. Many even said that there was no design culture in the GDR. I wanted to change the situation, and I succeeded,”- says Gunther.

Storage strategy
“I had a big attic filled to the brim with all kinds of designer items, but it was always important for my wife and I to live among these things and use them,” says Gunter. “All the chairs and light fixtures in our dining room were made in the GDR, as well as the Superfest (which means “super strong”) glasses, made from a patented material that cannot be broken!”
“I also have several classic display cases in the dining room and in the office where I store special items, sorted by style and material,- says Gunther. - A photograph of each item and detailed information can be found in my catalogue, which I constantly update and publish on Höhne’s website - portable sewing machine Freia , designed by designer Ernst Fischer ( Ernst Fischer ) in the early years of the GDR for the company VEB MEWA Ernst - Th ä lmann - Werk Suhl ( see photo here, - editor's note). This is an amazingly practical and carefully thought out item with interesting story. Its unusual body is made of plastic composite duroplast. It consists of scraps of fabric from which uniforms were once sewn for members of the Union of Free German Youth, and these uniforms were sewn on the company’s machines Freia ", says Gunther.
Another item that Gunther is particularly attached to is- aluminum jug (pictured in the upper right corner), designed in 1959-1960 by Margarita Jani ( Margarete Jahny) for VEB Aluminumwerk Fischbach . The designer herself gave Gunther this jug.

SEE ALSO…
Other photos of this collection of unusual decor

TELL US…
And do you have interesting collection, which you keep at home? Tell us about the most unusual piece in the collection. Share your photos in the comments section and don't forget to write where you live!